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Aquarium life hacks, diy hacks, and money saving tips.


Cys aquatics
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Good stuff Cys Aquatics! It's great to see younger aquarists out there!

My money saving tips are:

 -do not buy the rolls of filter floss for your HOB filter - to eventually throw away. Use sponge material that you can use over and over again; by rinsing it out in water change water. 

-don't ever throw away or sell used tanks / equipment if you take a break from the hobby. If you ever get the itch again, you'll have them on hand to start back up.

 

Edited by Jeff
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The single most beneficial cost-savings I could recommend is this…

Stop buying “water conditioning” chemistry.  Absolutely the biggest waste of money in this hobby.

 Those who need to de-chlorinate can do so with plain old vitamin C.  Just as safe and effective at a fraction of the cost.  

Your fish don’t need chemicals help with their slime coat, nothing you add to the water will “reduce their stress”.

There is no such thing as “bottled beneficial bacteria”.

Liquid “Ammonia locking” products do not neutralize ammonia, they just convert it to a non-lethal form which will then be released again in lethal form in 24-48 hours.

pH, general hardness and carbonate hardness can all be adjusted and maintained inexpensively without the use of expensive, bottled “wonder drugs”.

Snake oil, all of it.

The less you artificially add to the environment, the better off you, your fish AND your wallet will be.

 

Edited by tonyjuliano
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My favorite tip, is to use 2.5ml for most of the API liquid tests when the drops are divisible by 2 and use half the drops  (eg 3 drops instead of 6).  The color is the same as long as you look through the side (which is what the instructions say)

 

 

On 6/18/2021 at 11:10 AM, tonyjuliano said:

Snake oil, all of it.

😮  This seems like a bit of a hot take, but I agree in general you usually don't /need/ all or any of it as long as you have water and food for your fish.

 

On 6/18/2021 at 11:10 AM, tonyjuliano said:

pH, general hardness and carbonate hardness can all be adjusted and maintained inexpensively without the use of expensive, bottled “wonder drugs”.

Since we're talking about saving money can you expand on that.  what are your recommendations for adjusting pH GH KH?

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On 6/18/2021 at 2:10 PM, tonyjuliano said:

The single most beneficial cost-savings I could recommend is this…

Stop buying “water conditioning” chemistry.  Absolutely the biggest waste of money in this hobby.

 Those who need to de-chlorinate can do so with plain old vitamin C.  Just as safe and effective at a fraction of the cost.  

Your fish don’t need chemicals help with their slime coat, nothing you add to the water will “reduce their stress”.

There is no such thing as “bottled beneficial bacteria”.

Liquid “Ammonia locking” products do not neutralize ammonia, they just convert it to a non-lethal form which will then be released again in lethal form in 24-48 hours.

pH, general hardness and carbonate hardness can all be adjusted and maintained inexpensively without the use of expensive, bottled “wonder drugs”.

Snake oil, all of it.

The less you artificially add to the environment, the better off you, your fish AND your wallet will be.

 

what vitamin c do you buy or use

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On 6/18/2021 at 4:09 PM, CT_ said:

Since we're talking about saving money can you expand on that.  what are your recommendations for adjusting pH GH KH?

Sure…

First thing, I must state that it is my opinion that if the source of the water readily available to you is wildly out of line, GH - KH - pH wise, with the accepted contents of your intended environment, then I would recommend using RODI water and mineralizing/buffering to suit.

I do this with my African Cichlid tank (which I will explain in detail in another post).  If I was keeping Discus, I would use the same approach (in the opposite extreme, of course).

It’s important to understand that GH refers to the amount of magnesium and calcium dissolved in the water (for the most part), and KH refers to the amount of carbonates and bicarbonate present.

GH is important in terms of osmoregulation (mostly), which is the ability of your fish to “breathe” properly. 

KH determines your environments buffering capacity, which is the ability to resist changes in pH. KH and pH are inextricably linked, you cannot adjust one without the other being affected.  Most tropical fish can adjust to changes in pH, beyond what they are presently adjusted to, but only over time.  Abrupt changes in pH are the easiest way to damage or even kill fish.  PH changes are usually tolerated, but slowly, this is what we mean by “acclimation”.

This being said, if you are close, then one can use the following methods to make adjustments:

To Raise GH:

Add Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate). A baseline recommendation is 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water (dissolve in a cup of aquarium water if adding directly to the tank). As inferred earlier, whiile adjusting GH is not as potentially dangerous to your fish as adjusting pH, dramatic changes of any sort can be stressful. “Flashing” (rubbing on the gravel or rocks) is often attributed to abrupt changes in hardness.

Only make any substantial GH adjustment over a period of 2 to 3 days if aquarium is already stocked with fish

To Raise KH (remember, this will also alter pH):

Add baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). A baseline recommendation is 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons of water.

For an established aquarium, remember to take this slowly as fish are highly sensitive to pH changes.

To lower both levels, RODI water can be added.

That’s really all you need, baking soda & epsom salt - plus some experience (and the knowledge that comes with it).

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On 6/18/2021 at 5:06 PM, BIG GREEN said:

what vitamin c do you buy or use

Plain old ascorbic acid, food grade, powdered form.

A pound will cost you less than $10, and last several lifetimes.

I don’t currently have a need, my water supply has zero chlorine or chloramine, but when I was living in a different location, this is what I used.

Edited by tonyjuliano
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